DAVID ASHTON was born in Greenock in 1941. He studied at Central Drama School, London, from 1964 to 1967, and most recently appeared in The Last King of Scotland and The Etruscan Smile. David started writing in 1984 and he has seen many of his plays and TV adaptations broadcast - he wrote early episodes of EastEnders and Casualty, and twelve McLevy series for BBC Radio 4.inspectormclevy.com
Ashton's McLevy is a man obsessed with meting out justice and with demons of his own * Scotsman * David Ashton's writing is excellent, his characters thoroughly convincing and his narrative grabs you * The Sherlock Holmes Society * Mclevy is a sort of Victorian Morse with a heart, prowling the mean wynds and tenements of the endlessly fascinating city. David Ashton impeccably evokes Edinburgh so vividly that you feel the cold in your bones and the menace of the Old Town's steep cobbles and dark corners * Financial Times * McLevy is one of the greatest psychological creations and Ashton the direct heir to Robert Louis Stevenson * Brian Cox, CBE - Award-winning actor * An intriguing Victorian story... elegant and convincing * The Times * Here is Jean Brash centre stage in all her splendour - clever, cheeky, generous, alluring, hard-headed, yet prone to the occasional burst of crazy romanticism, an old friend who is full of surprises. I find her as irresistible as McLevy does: she's my favourite character and David Ashton's writing is as delicious, elegant and compelling as she is. * Siobhan Redmond (Jean Brash in BBC Radio 4's McLevy series) * PRAISE FOR THE INSPECTOR McLEVY AND JEAN BRASH SERIESAshton is an old hand at milking the Old Town, New Town and Leith for their maximum atmosphere, suspense and air of criminality. That, combined with the intriguing premise of a crime-solving brotel-keeper, makes Mistress of the Just Land a most diverting page turner * Herald *